Macau
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Located in the Pearl River Delta off the mainland of the People's Republic of China is Macau. Macau is often overlooked due to its larger neighbor, Hong Kong, but Macau, despite being similar, has had its own unique history. What began as a fishing village evolved into a major trading port and in the 21st century has become a popular entertainment center. It remains unlike any other place in Asia and indeed the entire world. Learn more about Macau and its history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

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Macau is currently classified as a special administrative region of China. It isn't quite a territory of the country, but it also isn't quite integrated with the rest of the country. For all practical purposes, it's a part of China, but it's also often listed separately when you see world data listed by country, even though it's not and has never been an independent country. It's located on the southern coast of China at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province.

It lies directly to the southwest of Hong Kong across the Pearl River estuary and is bordered to the north by the Chinese city of Zhuhai in mainland China. Macau isn't very big. It only has an area of 33 square kilometers or 13 square miles. Because of its small area, it is today the most densely populated place on earth with a density of 22,000 people per square kilometer or 57,000 people per square mile.

To compare this to nearby Hong Kong, it has about one-tenth the population, with approximately 720,000 people, and one-thirty-third the area. Macau is geographically divided into two separate parts, a peninsular part, which is connected to mainland China, and an island part. The northern part of the territory is the peninsula. It's the oldest and most historically significant part of Macau where the original Portuguese settlement was located.

To the south lie the islands of Taipa and Kolowani. Taipa was once a separate island, but has been joined to both Macau and Kolowani by land reclamation and bridges. It's the home to Macau's international airport and many residential and university districts. The southernmost part of Macau is Kolowani, which retains more natural scenery and is less urbanized than the other parts. Historically, it was a base for pirates, and now it contains parks, beaches, and temples.

There's also a small man-made area called the Kotai Strip, which was created by land reclamation between Taipa and Koloani. It is now the site of massive casino and resort developments, including some of the world's largest gambling complexes. So the big question is, why is Macau even a thing? To understand this, we must first grasp the history of this small region.

The earliest known human settlement in Macau dates back about 4,000 to 6,000 years. Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was inhabited during the Neolithic period. By the Qin Dynasty in the 3rd century BC, the region was part of Panyu County and later under the control of the Han Dynasty. Macau, then known as Ama Gao or the Bay of Ama, was named after the sea goddess Mazu. It remained a relatively quiet fishing village for centuries under the jurisdiction of various Chinese dynasties.

Mazu eventually was butchered in translation and became the word Macau. It was part of Zhongshan County during the Song and Ming dynasties and played absolutely no significant political or commercial role in the Chinese imperial system. However, in 1277, it was the destination for 50,000 refugees who were fleeing the Mongols as they invaded China.

The turning point for Macau came in the year 1517, when Portuguese explorer Jorge Alvarez became the first European to land in the Pearl River Delta region. However, the real foundation of Portuguese Macau began about 40 years later, around 1557, although the exact circumstances remain historically debated. Here's where the story becomes particularly interesting.

Rather than a military conquest, the Portuguese settlement in Macau emerged through a complex arrangement with Chinese authorities. Portuguese traders seeking a permanent base for their lucrative trade with China and Japan negotiated for the right to establish a settlement. They paid annual rent to Chinese officials and acknowledged Chinese sovereignty, a crucial detail that would shape Macau's unique status for centuries.

The Chinese regarded the Portuguese presence as a commercial concession, not a colonial handover. Despite this, the Portuguese, however, built permanent settlements and fortifications and administered the city largely autonomously. This made Macau the first European settlement in East Asia. During this period, Macau became the crown jewel of Asian trade networks. Portuguese merchants used it as their base for the incredibly profitable great ship trade between China, Japan, and Europe.

Silver from the Americas flowed through Macau to China in exchange for silk, porcelain, and tea, while Japanese silver also entered this complex trading system. Macau also became a major religious center. The Jesuits used the city as a base to launch missions into China and Japan. Famous missionaries such as Matteo Ricci passed through or lived in Macau. The city hosted numerous churches and religious schools and became a melting pot of European and Asian cultures.

The city's population grew to include not just Portuguese administrators and traders, but also Chinese merchants, Macanese, who were mixed Portuguese-Chinese families, enslaved Africans, and traders from across Asia. This created Macau's distinctive multicultural character that still persists today.

This was revolutionary for the time. In an era where most of Asia remained closed to European trade, Macau served as virtually the only bridge between East and West. For nearly two centuries, it was Europe's primary window into China. The Dutch attempted to seize Macau in 1622 but were repelled in the Battle of Macau, a rare Portuguese victory that helped preserve the colony.

When Canton, now known as Guangzhou, became the primary Chinese port for foreign trade under the Canton system, which lasted from 1757 to 1842, Macau's influence began to wane. It remained significant in religious and cultural spheres, but was eclipsed economically. The 19th century brought further challenges that forced Macau to reinvent itself. The opening of other Chinese ports to European trade after the Opium Wars, which I covered in a previous episode, broke Macau's monopoly position.

Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony in 1842 changed the fortunes of Macau. Hong Kong became a more attractive port than Macau because it had a deep natural harbor that could accommodate large modern ships. Additionally, after Britain took control, Hong Kong offered greater political and economic stability, more openness to foreign trade, and better infrastructure, which made it more appealing to global merchants and shipping companies than the older, more constrained Portuguese-run Macau.

During this period, Portugal formalized its control over Macau through the 1887 Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking, which gave Portugal perpetual occupation rights while maintaining Chinese sovereignty, a legal arrangement that would prove crucial in the 20th century. More on that in a bit.

Facing declining economic fortunes, Macau shifted its focus towards new industries. It became a haven for Chinese refugees fleeing political turmoil, developing light manufacturing, and began exporting what would become its most famous industry, gambling. The 20th century saw Macau navigate between multiple worlds. During World War II, despite Portugal's neutrality, the territory served as a refuge for both Chinese fleeing Japanese occupation and even Europeans escaping Nazi persecution.

This reinforced Macau's reputation as a cosmopolitan sanctuary in the middle of Asia. The real transformation, however, began in the 1960s, when Stanley Ho was granted a monopoly gambling license, laying the foundation for modern Macau's casino industry. Unlike the informal gambling that had existed for decades, this created a regulated, tourism-focused industry that would eventually rival Las Vegas.

On December 3, 1966, riots known as the 1213 Incident erupted between pro-communist Chinese factions and the Portuguese colonial government. The immediate trigger was a dispute over the construction of a school by leftist organizations in Taipa, which was halted by colonial officials. This escalated into widespread anti-Portuguese protests, vandalism, and violence across the territory. The situation quickly spiraled, with thousands protesting and pro-Beijing groups seizing the moment to challenge colonial rule.

Portuguese police responded with force, causing several deaths and injuries. Under intense pressure, the colonial government issued a formal apology and agreed to many of the protesters' demands, effectively conceding significant influence to mainland China within Macau. The official change in the status of Macau began in 1974, and it didn't happen in Asia, but in Europe.

In 1974, Portugal experienced the Carnation Revolution, which overthrew their dictatorship, introduced democracy, and significantly altered the country's approach to its overseas territories. The new democratic Portuguese government adopted a policy of decolonization and began seeking to divest itself of all its remaining colonies. And this created a very unusual situation. Portugal actually wanted to return Macau to China.

But China wasn't immediately interested in taking it back. The communist government in Beijing was focused on more pressing concerns, such as economic development and the complex situation in Hong Kong. Chinese leaders viewed Macau as stable and valuable, serving as a window to the West and a source of foreign trade.

During this period, several informal understandings emerged, the biggest of which was that Portugal would continue administering Macau as a Chinese territory under Portuguese administration, rather than as a Portuguese colony. This subtle but important distinction acknowledged Chinese sovereignty while maintaining Portuguese governance. Official administrative control of Macau was transferred from Portugal to China on December 20, 1999.

It marked the end of 442 years of Portuguese administration, and Macau became a special administrative region of China under the One Country, Two Systems framework. Under this system, Macau maintains its own legal system, its own currency, and significant autonomy in most areas except defense and foreign affairs. The arrangement is guaranteed until the year 2049.

The most significant post-transfer change in Macau occurred in 2002, when the government ended the gambling monopoly and opened the market up to international competition. American casino giants like Sands, Wins, and MGM entered the market, transforming Macau into the world's largest gambling destination by revenue, surpassing Las Vegas by 2006. In 2024, the gambling revenues of Macau were almost four times greater than those of Las Vegas.

So it would be wrong at this point to say that Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia. Las Vegas is actually the Macau of the Americas. This economic boom brought unprecedented growth, but also new challenges. The economy became heavily dependent on gambling revenue, primarily from mainland Chinese visitors. And unlike Vegas, which is reliant on shows and other attractions, Macau is mostly about the gambling.

What makes Macau's history particularly fascinating is how it developed a distinct identity that is neither fully Chinese nor Portuguese, but something that's uniquely its own. The Macanese culture, cuisine, and architectural heritage all reflect this blending. The most iconic landmark in Macau is the Ruins of St. Paul, a Portuguese Catholic church of which only the facade of the structure remains. One of the most iconic foods in Macau is egg tarts, another Portuguese dish.

Street signs in Macau are still written in both Portuguese and Chinese, although very little Portuguese is actually spoken anymore. The overwhelmingly dominant language is Cantonese, although English has gained widespread adoption. I got to visit Macau on Christmas Day 2007 on a day trip from Hong Kong. It was well worth the ferry ride to get to experience such a unique city. Macau's history is a layered story of global commerce, religious exchange, and geopolitical transition.

From a minor fishing village, to a linchpin of the Portuguese Maritime Empire, to a gambling mecca, Macau embodies a rare mixture of Chinese and European influences. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Okun and Cameron Kiefer. A quick reminder that I'll be hosting a 5th anniversary party for the podcast on July 19th. If you'd like to attend, information and an RSVP is available in a link in the show notes.

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